James Hetfield Knows Why Metallica Haven’t Performed at the Super Bowl

Many of the biggest musical acts in the world have performed during the Super Bowl halftime show. Metallica aren't on the list, however — and James Hetfield has a pretty good idea why.

The subject came up during Hetfield's recent visit to Nikki Sixx's Sixx Sense radio show (via Metal Sucks), and while making it clear he doesn't necessarily expect to get an invitation, he pointed out there's an obvious disconnect between the type of performance Metallica's known for and the flashy environment surrounding the Super Bowl. (You can hear the interview below.)

"I can’t dance, I can’t jump around, I’m not an acrobat, I’m not a variety show, you know? We're artists. We’re a band. We love playing songs," said Hetfield. "We’re not gonna fly through the air on a sparkly star with a unicorn."

Mythical creatures notwithstanding, anyone who's ever watched a Super Bowl understands what he's talking about — and while plenty of rock acts have made it work without a sparkly star, Hetfield went on to suggest that they might have worked as a halftime act at one point.

"It’s become less about music, unfortunately, and more about just the spectacle," he added. "When we played for the 50th anniversary of the NFL ... right here in our hometown and they didn’t have us do it ... that would have been the time. Maybe that time has passed?"

If that particular gig probably won't be showing up on Metallica's itinerary any time soon, there's no shortage of other opportunities for fans to see them perform in the coming months: They recently announced a round of tour dates in support of their soon-to-be-released new album, Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct.